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Co-teaching, Collaboration

and Classroom

Success

Jodie Dittmar, M. S.

Diagnostic Center, Central

1818 W. Ashlan

Fresno, CA 93705

There’s More Than

One Way to Collaborate… Collaborative Planning

Systems of Information Sharing and Consultation

Resource Room Support (pull-out, “as needed”, etc.)

Coaching and Modeling

Staff development

Peer tutoring/buddy system

Cooperative Learning

Student Improvement Teams

Instructional Assistants

Accommodations and Modification

Differentiated Instruction

Co-teaching

Are we coteaching?

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Consider Benefits

and Drawbacks of

co-teaching and collaboration,

related to:

Physical isolat ion of teaching staff

Expert ise(content, educationally specific, etc.)

Resources

Discipline

Curricular planning

Other…..

What is Co-teaching?

Definit ion

OR

Definit ion(s)?

Considering the models……

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Co-teaching Models One teach; one observe One teach; one assist

Parallel teaching Station teaching Alternative teaching

Team teaching

Marilyn Friend & Lynne Cook; Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals,

7t h Edition; 2013

One Teach; One Observe

Advantages:

Lessens planning

Allows for one teacher to gather behavior or student engagement data

Drawbacks:

Can transit ion into one teacher doing the lion’s share of the work

Can create power

perceptions of a “lead teacher”

Interactions; Collaboration Skills for School Professionals; 7t h Ed; Friend & Cook; 2013

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Station Teaching

Advantages: Easy & clear division

of labor

Can be effective when teachers have very different teaching styles

Students benefit from lower ratio of

teacher to student

Parity of students (each teacher teaches ALL)

Drawbacks

Noise

More disruptive

Need thoughtful planning of order items are taught to groups (sequence)

Must be cognizant of t ime of lessons (synchronize each group/table’s lesson)

Interactions; Collaboration Skills for School Professionals; 7t h Ed; Friend & Cook; 2013

Parallel Teaching

Advantages:

Lower teacher to student ratio

Good for drill & practice (test rev iew) sessions or projects needing close superv ision

Facilitates tiering of instruction (teach same concepts but differentiate practice)

Drawbacks:

Only ok for initial

instruction if both

teacher’s qualified

Noise, activ ity level

More difficult to ensure fairness in

student mastery (and/or students

can feel something

was unfair in how

others were taught)

Interactions; Collaboration Skills for School Professionals; 7t h Ed; Friend & Cook; 2013

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Alternative Teaching

Advantages:

Provides way to address small group with special learning needs to preteach; directly teach or reteach

Highly intensive instruction provided but within gen ed classroom

Provides all students a chance to interact with the teacher

Drawbacks:

Students with disabilit ies can be st igmatized

Struggling students can remain stuck in

group (w/ teacher) for reteaching, etc. while others move

Interactions; Collaboration Skills for School Professionals; 7t h Ed; Friend & Cook; 2013

Teaming

Advantages:

Creates synergy

Can feel safer to attempt innovation

or “risk” (because you have support

Shared instruction in everything (small or whole group, etc.)

Students typically pick up on synergy

and teachers report

it is most rewarding

Drawbacks:

Takes the most t rust and commitment

Must plan together

Teachers must mesh their teaching styles

I f teaming isn’t

comfortable; likely to carry to students

Interactions; Collaboration Skills for School Professionals; 7t h Ed; Friend & Cook; 2013

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One Teach; One Assist

Advantages:

Requires lit t le joint planning

Gives role for the teacher who doesn’t feel

competent in a content area, etc

Drawbacks:

Too typical in secondary classrooms

May be distracting

Can limit the special educators credibility; make them an “assistant”

Can encourage “dependent” learners

Difficulty gaining comprehensive studies because of multiple models (and variables) in implementation.

Anecdotal ev idence is strong.

Multiple studies reviewed…..

although not as clearly research validated or as substantial a body of scientific evidence as we would like…. related study evidence is strong.

There are indicators within varied implementations, as well as current research about collaboration (PLC’s, etc.), Universal

Design for learning, differentiation, and both intervention and behavior results that apply.

A growing topic of study, but overall (when done with fidelity) is recommended.

Is Co-teaching effective?

Research

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Positive Indications of

Co-teaching Benefits include:

Academic – Students in co-taught settings may benefit from increased emphasis on cognitive strategies & study skills, increased emphasis on social skill, academic progress and improved classroom communities (Murawski, 2006, Walther-Thomas, 1997, Weichel, 2001).

Behavioral –increased individual attentions and on task student behavior; more interaction with teachers when general education and special education students are cotaught (Boudah, Schumaker & Deshler, 1997; Murawski, 2006; Zigmond, Magiera & Matta, 2003)

Social – Students reported improved social skills, self-concept & strong peer relations when not pulled out (Bahamonde & Friend, 1999; Jones & Carlier, 1995; Salend & Johansen, 1997; Walther-Thomas, 1997)

Practical – Teachers reported being more energized, creative & able to trust one another. More fun teaching! (Adams & Cessna, 1993; Gately & Gately, 2001; Murawski, 2003)

Current…. (resources)

Primary Intervention

(~80% ) School-/Classroom-Wide Systems for All Students,

Staff, and Settings Secondary Intervention

(~15% ) Specialized Group

Systems for Students with

At-Risk Performance

Tertiary Intervention (~5%) Specialized Indiv idualized Systems for Students with

Intensive Needs

80% of Students

15%

5%

Multi-Tier Support Systems

Adapted from ”What is School-Wide PBS?”

Co-teaching roles in….

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What does the evidence say are key elements of

effective co-teaching?

1. Strong administrat ive support, including:

Thoughtful selections of co-teachers

Priorit izing scheduling of co-taught

classes

Staff development and planning t ime

Respecting reasonable rat ios of students with and without disabilit ies in classrooms

Key elements of effective co-teaching (cont’d)

2. Co-teachers who are determined to meet the needs of all students in the classroom.

Respecting each other’s st rengths

Keeping communication open

Identifying student needs

Designing curriculum and lessons in a way ALL students are included and can learn

Support ing every students’ efforts

(scaffolding and support)

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The typical dilemmas of all

successful teams include:

Circumventing the limited instructional breaks, number of

children on your responsibility list,

and lack of professional development or collaboration

time….

Meetings

Weekly meetings are noted as a key component in many successful co-teaching partnerships.

Occasional responses to that fact: What?

Weekly?

Have you seen my schedule?

Hahahahahahahahaha!! ;)

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Options for creating

shared planning and

communication time Periodically scheduled substitute teaches

Have students watch an engaging video or set up

independent student work time (with a specific

outcome to increase student engagement)

Utilize parent volunteer or para-educator supervision

Trade off supervision with another teacher team

Utilize staff development or staff meeting times;

integrate with PLC planning times

Meet during special instructional times, recess or before

or after school

Set up a communication routine between co-teaching

partners (in person, email, messaging or phone) that

keeps dialogue ongoing… . but makes the time both

efficient and productive

Regular Communication (cont’d)

Use objective methods to measure progress. Ask yourselves:

Are we both clear on our focus and goal(s)?

Do we need (or already have implicit) co-teaching goals to

improve our instruction? (besides district benchmarks, indiv idual student growth, etc.)

Are we both aware of ways our goals are measured?

Are we successful at making that happen? Is that

measurement happening regularly or does it need to be tweaked to be more ongoing, built into instruction, etc?

Are there clear indicators of something we should change?

Are there clear indicators of something we should celebrate?

Be flexible. Make sure both the communication and the actual

co-teaching remain worthwhile for both members of the team.

Choose to remain mutually respectful!

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Establish the Basics First

Classroom management

Be “on the same page”

-no div ide and conquer here!

Know your roles (who will do what)

Agree to the same standards/rules/positive reinforcement

Get specific (talk about allowable noise levels, bathroom priv ileges, sharpening pencils, food in the classroom, etc.)

Establishing Co-Teaching Expectations (A model)

Co-teaching in the Differentiated Classroom, grds. 5-12; by Jossey-Bass

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Establish specific

curricular expectations Share and determine work expectations including:

Who evaluates which assignments

Late work, neatness, or other work expectations

Who will contact parents

Be honest about your own strengths & weaknesses

Brush up on skills where needed (and in the beginning)

be open to help to do so

Mr. Special Education teacher may need to brush up

on content skills or own that a particular content isn’t

something he/she can teach without help

Mr. General Education teacher may need to learn to

modify curriculum to meet IEP goals or differentiate

for varied learners

Curricular expectations cont’d.

Classroom:

How much of a role will each person play?

How much will each of you be in the direct teaching role?

How much will each of you be in the support ing teaching role?

In which situations will this be different?

Who will teach which groups?

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Frontloading

Instruction in your Classroom At any given t ime, one may be t he st age director

and t he ot her the choreographer… so det ermine:

Environmental supports

Time and Scheduling supports

Organizational supports

Metacognitive Supports

Good Teaching Creates Better Learning

I do it.

We do it.

We do it.

You all do it.

You (individually) do it.

(Tip: This is also true when teaching new behaviors!)

Active Learning

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Is Everyone Engaged… in what you’re teaching?

ALL students need to be engaged in responding.

A self engaged student:

• Assesses what they already know

• Weighs information against what they perceive

• Makes predictions

• Seeks assistance or internalizes successes

Active Learning

Differentiated Classrooms

A truly differentiated classroom can serve all students in a school. It builds on the premise that students are different in their readiness, interests, and needs in each curriculum area. In the differentiated classroom, the teacher varies the material, the instructional approach, and the manner in which the students demonstrate their learning. Inclusion, A Service, Not

a Place…a Whole School Approach; Alan Garner, Ph.D. and Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky, Ph.D., 2002

Universal Design for Learning

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Conflict between assigned

co-teachers

Conflict generally is caused when two individuals want different outcomes but must sett le for the same one, when they want the same outcome but it cannot be available to both, when there is a difference in perceptions of personal power, or when one individual internally experiences conflict ing reactions to a situat ion. These causes are influenced by a wide variety of personal and organizat ional variables.

Friend & Cook; Interactions; collaboration Skills for School Professionals, 7t h Edition, 2013

Avoiding conflict

You: The Owner Of Realistic,

Practical Planning & Implementation

Given my role… What can I do to

create success?

Avoiding conflict

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The Key to Communication

and Subsequent Solutions

Seek first to understand….

then to be understood.

Collaborat ion

What I hearing you saying is…..

The so what? Blaming is a waste of t ime

Blaming just adds addit ional barriers

Blaming or complaining might even be just ified,

but is a choice we make to simply “stay put” (Being right over being productive)

If administrat ive leadership and involvement is directing objective discussion, so much the better, but ult imately….

you may only have power in improving your own corner of the world!

Avoiding conflict

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Collaboration Creates Success

General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers

& Paraprof essionals

: Be

RESPECTFUL of all participants

When dev eloping Instructional, intervention

and behav ior plans

When carrying out and when troubleshooting

plans day to day

Practical ideas Increase: Ef ficiency

Ef fectiveness

SUPPORT & REINFORCE

EACH OTHER’S EFFORTS

Collaborate Consistently

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“Ineffective people live day after day with

unused potential. They experience synergy only

in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced

regularly, consistently, almost daily in people's lives. I t requires enormous personal security,

openness and a spirit of adventure.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the

main thing!

(Student Progress!)

Never Let Go Of: Win-Win

Steven Covey

We Can Be Co-Teaching Change Agents (Elizabeth Stein; May 2016)

1. Be the Change

2. Push Beyond the Status Quo

3. Stay focused – stay passionate

4. Cultivate relationships

http://www.middleweb.com/30073/we-need-

to-be-co-teaching-change-agents/

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At the end of the year you will

want to ask yourself…

What have I done to shape the path for students to become better versions of themselves this year?

How have you guided students to exceed beyond their comfort zone?

How have your actions propelled you and your co-teaching to create successful and meaningful learning for students?

Did your actions deepen you and your co-teacher’s instructional decisions?

Have your actions this year created long term results – with the potential for evolving outcomes?

One thing about championship

teams is that they’re resilient.

No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and

overcome adversity.

Nick Saban

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Diagnostic Center of Central California

Jodie Dittmar, M.S. 559-228-2214 jdittmar@dcc-cde.ca.gov

Practical Application Resource You Can Use TODAY…

Have my co-teaching partner & myself discussed?

Personal perceptions of co-teaching

Any fears I have of co-teaching

Environment (noise, movement, control, etc.)

Personal space needs (my stuff)

Planning & communication -

opportunities and commitment

What is going well….what must change?

( Only prioritize one thing to solve if possible)

Start with three good things about this new venture… that relates to you, your classroom, your students, your content area, or your perspectives on the year!